LOS ANGELES -- Stephen Curry threw his mouthpiece in frustration and was whistled for a rare technical foul.

The Warriors never grabbed a lead. They never threatened to win once again at Staples Center. They didn't even appear to stand a chance, falling meekly in a 138-98 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday that evened up the best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series.

"We lost by 40," Warriors forward Draymond Green said. "It's not easy to flush that at all, but we took that home-court advantage, so now we go back to Oracle, and it's going to get interesting."

One of the few displays of fire in the rout came when Curry in the third quarter scored on a layup over Blake Griffin. Frustrated he didn't get a foul call despite drawing contact, Curry tossed his mouthpiece.

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 21: Blake Griffin #32 of the Los Angeles Clippers drives against David Lee #10 of the Golden State Warriors in Game Two of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center on April 21, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
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With the first-round series headed to Oakland for Game 3 on Thursday, the Warriors in order to consistently compete with the No. 3-seeded Clippers must find a way to contain Griffin, who scored 35 points.

Foul trouble did the trick in Saturday's 109-105 win in Game 1, but Griffin came back with a vengeance and scored a playoff career high in points in three quarters while having a fairly easy time getting to the rim. He was 13 for 17 from the field and hit 9 of 10 free throws.

"He stayed on the attack," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "That's what we wanted him to do."

The No. 6-seeded Warriors had few answers, as Chris Paul had 12 points and 10 assists for the Clippers and DeAndre Jordan had 11 points and nine rebounds.

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Curry led the Warriors with 24 points before taking a seat himself as the rout was on, but he hadn't scored his first points until 2:45 left in the first half.

For the game, the Warriors committed 26 turnovers after losing 23 of them in Game 1. They were only 4 for 19 from 3-point range, with Curry going 1 for 7 from beyond the arc. The Clippers shot 56.6 percent from the field.

The Warriors headed into the fourth quarter down 105-73 and went into locker room down by 26.

Curry was limited to four points in the half on 1-for-6 shooting, including misfiring on each of his four 3-point attempts. While Curry made free throws to cut the lead to 26 points, some Clippers fans at Staples Center chanted "overrated" at the Warriors star

Griffin, on the other hand, poured in 21 points by halftime after being limited to 16 points in 19 minutes in Game 1. His play helped Draymond Green get up to five fouls as Griffin bullied his way to the rim.

"They definitely imposed their will from the start, and it showed," Green said. "We turned the ball over way too much. We let their bench do way too much."

The Clippers dominated the second quarter, hitting their first five shots after Jamal Crawford had ended the first quarter with a steal and layup at the buzzer. Bench players Danny Granger, Hedo Turkoglu, Darren Collison and Crawford combined to score the Clippers' first 19 points of the second quarter, as the Warriors could do little to stop the barrage.

Granger finished with 15 points, and Collison added 10 assists, padding stats after starters on both sides had long left the game.

Green, Jordan Crawford and David Lee scored 11 points apiece for the Warriors.

The Warriors once again got off to a slow start, trailing 15-4 before they were able to settle down in a quarter dominated by Griffin.

Griffin came out firing with 14 in the first quarter. He skied for a dunk and also made three trips to the free throw line as the Warriors struggled to contain him.

Meanwhile, Lee twice saw his shot blocked by Jordan and Jermaine O'Neal missed easy shots before both made their way to the bench.

"It seems like everybody lost their matchup today," Lee said. "It was a rough game all the way around."